NCDMB Pushes for Greater Access to Assets to Boost Indigenous Participation in Energy Sector
By Pan Afric Reporters
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has called for greater access to oil and gas assets, financing, technology and markets for indigenous companies, stressing the need to strengthen their capacity and competitiveness to expand Nigeria’s participation in the global energy industry.
The call was made by the NCDMB General Manager, Corporate Communications, Dr Obinna Ezeobi, while representing the Board at the 2026 Energy Conference of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC), held on October 8 at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos. The details were contained in a press release issued by the Board.
Speaking on the conference theme, “Access to Assets: Empowering Players and Driving Growth,” Ezeobi said the discussions aligned with the objectives of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, which seeks to expand opportunities for Nigerians to participate meaningfully in the oil and gas industry.
He explained that the Nigerian Content 10-Year Strategic Roadmap, launched in 2017, aims to increase local content participation to 70 per cent by 2027 through five strategic pillars and four enabling factors. The roadmap also seeks to improve access to critical assets for skilled Nigerian professionals while building the capacity of indigenous operators and service providers.
Ezeobi highlighted the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) as one of the Board’s major initiatives supporting local businesses, disclosing that more than 130 indigenous companies had accessed over $400 million through the facility, domiciled with the Bank of Industry and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank.
He also identified Project 100, the Nigerian Content Equipment Certification (NCEC), the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGaPS) and vendor development initiatives as programmes designed to strengthen local companies through capacity development, financing, certification, market access and business support.
According to him, Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry has increased from five per cent in 2010 to 61 per cent after 16 years of implementing the Nigerian Content Act. He, however, stressed that the next phase must focus on equipping indigenous companies with the skills, technology and business systems required to compete internationally.
The NCDMB official added that the Board was facilitating partnerships between Nigerian and foreign companies and promoting regional collaboration to help indigenous businesses expand beyond the domestic market.
Earlier, NAEC Chairman Ugo Amadi called for expanded opportunities for indigenous companies to acquire and develop oil and gas assets, identifying high entry costs, funding constraints and lengthy approval processes as major obstacles to their participation.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Engr Wole Ogunsanya, advocated greater consolidation and collaboration among indigenous oilfield service companies, saying the approach would enable them to pool technical capabilities and execute larger projects.
The conference chairman and Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Enterprise Group, Kola Adesina, represented by the company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Bethel Obioma, said access should extend beyond asset ownership to capital, partnerships, technology and markets.
“Access is actually much greater and more important than assets,” Adesina said, stressing that access to ideas, mentors, capital and partnerships was essential to business transformation before companies could acquire physical assets.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, represented by his Senior Technical Adviser, Engr Abel Nsa, urged Nigeria to move beyond ownership of its vast gas resources to their development, financing and conversion into sustainable economic value.
He said the Federal Government’s Decade of Gas initiative was designed to support industrialisation and expand the use of gas in power generation, transportation, manufacturing, fertiliser production and liquefied petroleum gas adoption.
The conference brought together stakeholders in the energy sector to examine ways of improving access to assets and creating greater opportunities for indigenous businesses to deepen local participation, drive investment and contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
